Carson Kelly’s 3-run home run powers D-Backs past Orioles; Peralta back,
D-Backs get key hitter back after 3 weeks out
David Peralta had a few options when planning his return to the Diamondbacks, manager Torey Lovullo said before Wednesday’s game.
The path chosen was the one that got Peralta back the quickest, simply trusting that time off was the sole cure for a right shoulder AC joint that’s put him on the injured list twice this season.
Peralta didn’t start the game, but in the seventh inning, he walked up to the plate to hearty applause, dug into the batter’s box and made his first at-bat at Chase Field in nearly a month.
Peralta grounded out to second, ending his day, but said after the game that he felt positive about his return and is eager to get back into the lineup.
“I was ready for anything,” he said. “I’m never not going to be ready for a situation. It doesn’t matter who was on the mound. I was ready. This didn’t go the way I wanted. But that was a good game and a good start. I’ll be ready for Friday to start in the lineup.”
Lovullo didn’t say whether Peralta would start when the Diamondbacks travel to South Florida to face the Marlins. Lovullo instead credited players like Tim Locastro, who’s replaced Peralta in left field recently, for having “stepped up” to bolster Arizona’s thin positions.
Peralta returning to the lineup is inevitable. However, Peralta’s return Wednesday was as far into the future as Lovullo looked. The last time Peralta tried to come back from this injury, he did not perform anywhere near the level he was at to open the season.
“He’s going to get some starts and I’m really excited to see what he can do. I know he’s very eager to get back out there and start playing full-time,” Lovullo said. “Today was just the day to get his bearings, get his his foundation and set up again. Just to get in the box again and see him up there, watch him walk up to the plate was really nice for me to see.”
Home-run hitters
Catcher Carson Kelly sparked an offensive push for the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the fourth. His three-run homer to left-center field gave Arizona the lead after Orioles center fielder Anthony Santander had produced the game’s first run with a solo shot in the top half of the inning.
Kelly’s homer was followed by a Taylor Clarke single and a Locastro walk, ending the day for Orioles starter John Means. For Kelly, Means’ fastball on a 2-2 count was not a surprise.
“I know he likes to throw it, so it was in the back of my head,” Kelly said. “(The pitch) was elevated a little bit and I put a good swing on it — helped us out a little bit.”
Ketel Marte followed up with a solo homer two innings later, his first since July 12 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Obstruction, distraction
Peralta’s groundout came after a weird incident during his at-bat. He swung on a Tanner Scott fastball in the dirt, which catcher Pedro Severino collected and fired toward first base in an attempt to pick off Nick Ahmed. The ball sailed into right field, Jarrod Dyson scored and Ahmed advanced to third.
But it was all wiped out by an obstruction call. Severino’s throwing arm made contact with home plate umpire Nic Lentz, who was trying to get out of the way of the errant pitch. By the time Dyson scored, Lentz had already waved his hand, disallowing the run.
“That was weird,” Dyson said. “I don’t know what the rules are, but since the catcher hit the umpire, they automatically returned the runners. I don’t know, it was weird to me because I’ve never heard of that before.”
Said Lovullo, “I just went out there for to make sure the umpire knew the rule and understood the rule. I was assuming that (Lentz) was calling it as batter interference or batter obstruction. I’m gonna stand by what the umpire said and what he told me at that point. I called off the dogs and I was gonna back down because if that was the case, he got the call right.”